Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, there has been proposed a plug connector 910 comprised of a connector housing 912, as actuator 960, and a latch arm 942 (see Japanese Translation of PCT International Application Publication No. 2009-543296).
The connector housing 912 includes a front part 920 and a body 928. A top surface 930 of the body 928 is at a location higher than a top surface 924 of the front part 920, and an inclined surface 940 which is inclined toward the top surface 924 of the front part 920 is provided at a front-side portion of a bottom portion 934 of the top surface 930 of the body 928.
The actuator 960 is disposed on the top surface 930 of the body 928 in a manner slidable in a front-rear direction of the connector housing 912. An end portion 954 at a front-side portion of the actuator 960 is formed into a hollow cylindrical shape.
One end of the latch arm 942 is fixed to a rear portion of the top surface 930 of the body 928. A free end portion of the latch arm 942 is provided with hooks 956 which can be hooked into slits 957 of a guide frame 922 which surrounds a mating receptacle connector (not shown).
A free end-side portion of the latch arm 942 is provided with an inclined segment 952 which is inclined toward the top surface 924 of the front part 920. The inclined segment 952 and the inclined surface 940 of the body 928 of the connector housing 912 are substantially parallel to each other, and a space for accommodating the end portion 954 of the actuator 960 is formed between the inclined segment 952 and the inclined surface 940.
When a rear end portion of the actuator 960 is pulled backward, the end portion 954 of the actuator 960 is slid upward along the inclined surface 940 of the body 928, and pushes a middle portion 948 of the latch arm 942. As a result, the latch arm 942 is elastically deformed upward, and the hooks 956 are removed from the slits 957 of the guide frame 922, whereby the connector housing 912 and the mating receptacle connector are released from the locked state.
As described above, since the latch arm 942 is provided with the inclined segment 952, it is difficult to reduce the distance between the hooks 956 of the latch arm 942 and the end portion 954 of the actuator 960.
This causes a problem that a dimension of the plug connector 910 in the front-rear direction is increased.